A couple minutes of waiting later, Caleb stroke up a conversation by saying to Noel, “I think I might start to have more confidence in what we’re doing if we can pull it off like this every time from here on out.” To which she replied, “Before, we were both nervous as hell because we didn’t know if we could successfully do it or what we had coming, but now that we do know I feel the same.”

After saying this, Noel’s mind drifted to thoughts of the turtle and what it had done for them to ensure their success. She was once again hit with that feeling of safe comfort as mental images of the turtle digging into the sand to blind the stingray and inspecting the rift to sense if any danger was on the other side ran through her mind. What would she and Caleb be without the turtle?

“Yeah, the turtle sure did a lot for us to destroy that rift.” Said Caleb, having heard Noel’s thoughts. “But like you said, it lead the way and we did the rest. So why not pat ourselves on the back for at least that?” he gave her a friendly smirk with that, which she gladly returned. “So yeah… great job.”

“Again like you said, the three of us are all in this together.” She said. “And not a single one left out.”

Their talk went on even as the sun fully went down and the rays of light coming into the cave grew dimmer. Only when they just realized how hungry they were getting did the turtle finally return with some fish and seaweed for them, looking very worn out after all the animals it had to tend to.

“Nice to see you found shelter and made yourselves comfortable.”

“You come and rest too, you look like you more than need it.” Noel swam up to take the turtle in her hands and gently settled it down on the sand between her and Caleb.

“Thanks Noel… now let’s get eating, I feel like all three of us definitely need it after today.”

And so they did. For a while they ate in silence until this time the turtle was the one to strike up a conversation, asking Noel and Caleb for something of a favor.

“Of course.” They both replied. They were more than willing to do anything for the creature who was smaller than each of their hands yet did so much for their well-being, and unconditionally too.

“I’ve just realized after all the work I had to do today, if the same awaits us with every rift we destroy, then that might be way too much work for me alone to handle. So I was thinking, would you mind if you helped me with some things we’re going to have to do in future?”

“We don’t mind at all, we’d be glad to help you with anything.” Noel replied, and Caleb nodded in agreement, prompting the turtle to seemingly smile at them in a grateful manner.

“Thank you for saying that. Now you’re probably going to ask how you can help, so I’ll answer that for you. In order for you to be able to help me with anything like what I just came back from doing, I’ll have to apply some more minor alterations to your body, only this time it’ll be on your brains.”

“Our brains?” Caleb asked a little nervously. “Will we still get to be ourselves after that?”

“This alteration to your brains won’t affect things like your memories or personality in any way so you can calm yourselves. Besides, why would I do anything that would be hurtful to you? On top of that, my kind can’t alter each other’s bodies or anything unless the ones on the receiving end allow it, thus the same applies to you two as well after the protection I gave you.”

Caleb shortly made a “I’m so dumb…” face at this, while Noel said, “Of course you wouldn’t harm us, do continue.” Albeit with a slightly awkward laugh as if she too initially had the same thoughts.

“Simply put, this alteration will give you two the same abilities I have. When it comes to changing our prey, my kind has never altered their brains aside from mind-controlling them to lure them in, which is the most basic form of brain alteration. This is because not only is it an unnecessary process, but it’s also a rather complicated one, since brains are one of the most – if not the most – complex parts of a life form’s body. Based on that, you can probably imagine how tiring it’s going to be for me to apply enough alterations to your brains so you can gain the same abilities as myself. Granted, I’ve already done a little bit of brain altering to you already in the form of protection from my kind’s mind-control, but that’s almost nothing compared to what I intend to do to your brains next.”

It took them some time to fully get it, but once they did, Noel and Caleb nodded to show this and asked, “So we’ll also be able to provide protection for any animals we might free as we destroy more rifts?”, “And be able to mind-control some others or sense nearby life forms to avoid danger?”

“All correct. But all that will have to wait until tomorrow morning, since I’m so exhausted right now I won’t be able to so much as change the colors of your eyes.”

“Not that you need to, but I get the point.” Caleb said, and Noel added, “We were saying earlier how we’re all in this altogether, so it’s only right that anything you need help with, we assist.”

“Altogether in this… I kind of like the sound of that for some reason.”

“We’re a team, three of a kind!” Caleb said encouragingly as if trying to life the turtle’s spirits after it was so worn out from today’s work. This did seem to work, as the turtle grinned again and lifted one of its front fins for Caleb as he extended a hand to give it a friendly shake.

Also smiling at the sight, Noel muttered to herself, “Together…” and at that moment, the sense of comfort she felt inside her couldn’t be greater. Despite the uncertainty that the days to come held, the prospect of enduring it altogether with those close to her still gave her hope.

* * *

The next morning, Noel woke up to a strange sensation coursing through her, particularly in the head. It didn’t hurt or anything, but it was still a sensation she didn’t fancy feeling at all, let alone wake up to. A few seconds after she woke up though, the feeling began to slowly fade away. It was then Noel realized the sensation was similar to what she felt when the turtle had first turned her into a mermaid, and this was where she managed to put two and two together.

She sat up and looked around, her glance first landing on the turtle which had been sleeping between her and Caleb. It was already awake, but had it not been for its open eyes Noel would’ve thought it was still sound asleep, because its whole body was motionless and limp.

“Oh that brain altering really sucked the strength out of me, I’d barely be able to swim at this rate…”

Noel then looked at Caleb, who was the third to wake up and was rubbing his left temple as he rolled over to look at the other two. Noticing the frown of slight discomfort Noel was wearing on face, he asked, “You feeling what I’m feeling?”

Noel nodded. “I do believe that was the brain alteration we talked about the other night...” and glanced back at the turtle with a sense of concern. Caleb did too, asking, “Are you alright?”

“Still very much alive, if that’s what you mean. I figured I’d do my best work once I was fully rested so I got straight to it as soon as I woke up… But now that I’m done, I can’t even get myself off the ground… so I’m sorry for asking you this first thing in the morning, but can you please go out there and find some food for ourselves, because I sure can’t do it in this condition…”

“You don’t even have to ask, we’re on our way.” Noel replied, and proceeded to swim out of the cave with Caleb into the open water outside. Their heads were just beginning to poke out of the cave opening when the turtle suddenly called after them, prompting them to stop mid-swim.

“Aren’t you two forgetting something important? You ought not to forget exactly where we are…”

“Huh?” Confused, Noel and Caleb looked at each other and then at the turtle, back to back.

“If you’re going to go out looking for food, you don’t want to BECOME the food yourself, do you?”

That finally reminded Noel and Caleb of what they had forgotten to do and they nodded to show they understood. “Oh right, how could we have been so short-sighted…”

“You learn from your mistakes, so don’t feel bad about it. As for how you can detect any life forms around here, whether friendly or hostile, simply use your brains to concentrate on your surroundings and you’ll be able to sense their presence for as far as your brains allow it. Think of it like letting the waters around you become one with your mind, in easy terms.”

“Easier said than done, but we’ll sure try.” Caleb muttered, while Noel carefully poked her head outside and tried to focus on every bit of her surroundings. Seeing this, Caleb asked, “Any good?”

Noel opened her eyes that she clenched shut in the process of concentrating and replied, “I don’t feel anything different from what I typically feel even though I focused with all my might.”

“Oh well, first attempts are never best attempts…” Caleb mumbled almost pessimistically, but still gave Noel an encouraging smile out of the corner of his mouth before having a go at it himself. Of course, he too had no luck detecting any life forms nearby, not even the turtle right next to them.

“Gotta keep trying though, or else we’ll have to travel on empty stomachs and the turtle will have a harder time recovering its strength.” Noel said with half determination, half uncertainty.

Caleb didn’t respond, as he had gone back to focusing. His brow furrowed fiercely and his hands clenched into fists with every bit of concentration, but after a few seconds he loosened up with an exhausted pant and said, “Wanna take turns trying while the other rests to recharge themselves?”

Noel agreed to that, and so they spent the next several minutes with one of them practicing their newly earned ability and letting the other rest after slightly wearing themselves out, then reversing the roles with every attempt. They were so focused, they didn’t – or couldn’t – even bother to pay any attention to their stomachs making growling noises after what seemed like half an hour. By that time the turtle had fallen back asleep from exhaustion and they were getting more and more tempted to just simply resort to plucking a couple stalks of seaweed from nearby and call it a day.

But just as they were about to give up for real after fifty minutes of trial and error, Noel exclaimed, “Wait! I felt something! I feel a sensation in my head indicating something moving is near us!”

The turtle was so sound asleep it didn’t wake up at the sound of Noel’s thoughts echoing loudly in its head, but Noel was sure that if it was awake then it would have had the same reaction as Caleb, whose body jolted straight back up after being in a limp position and asked her, “Finally we’re onto something, good for you Noel! What else can you make of that thing you’re sensing?”

In his sudden burst of excitement Caleb had unknowingly leapt much closer to Noel from where he was, making her feel jittery for reasons she couldn’t quite explain (not helped by the sight of his shirtless torso), but she didn’t break her concentration even for a second and said, “Okay… it’s pretty small, so probably a fish and not any of the aliens… it’s getting closer, I think… wait, I stand corrected – there’s like two or three of them… still getting closer… but I don’t know exactly how close…”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“That’s fine, just keep it up, you’re doing great….” Caleb said encouragingly, before going back to concentrating in an attempt to also detect whatever Noel was focusing on. While not as clearly as Noel, his mind did seem to pick up a presence somewhere around the rock formation they were at. Just as he was focusing more to get a clearer mental image, out of the corner of his eye he saw three fish swimming past the rock formation, and from a distance not too far off from them either. It was then that Noel exclaimed, “Right there!” and pointed at the same fish Caleb was looking at.

“Nice job, you really outdid yourself!” Caleb congratulated Noel and was about to look at her to give a high five when he realized how close his face had gotten to hers and he pulled himself away, his cheeks feeling like there was a rise in the water temperature. Then hoping to do something useful in return – as well as get rid of the feeling of embarrassment rising in him from what he just did – he added, “Um, y-you mind if I, uh, tried luring them towards us, while you sit back and rest?”

Flattered from Caleb’s compliment, Noel softly chuckled with a faint blush and settled herself down at the edge of the cave opening, saying, “They’re all yours.”

“With pleasure.” He replied, and directed all his concentration on the three fish and nothing else. To his surprise, he found this to be easier to pull off than focusing on all the waters around him. But right now he couldn’t afford to let this realization distract him from getting into the three fish’s brains and make them come towards the cave. Something like a full minute passed and the fish weren’t showing any difference in behavior, swimming further away from the rock formation still.

“Come ON! Get over here!” Caleb shouted inside his mind, startling Noel a bit as she overheard it. And surprisingly, the sudden outburst of energy accompanied with his shout of mild annoyance finally seemed to do the trick, as the fish abruptly stopped where they were.

“Yes, that does it!” Caleb said, almost with a laugh out of relief at his hard-earned success. “Now all three of you just come here, don’t think of going anywhere else, just look over here!”

Both happy for his achievement and somewhat amused by the way he was talking as if the fish could understand what he was saying, Noel chuckled and gave a few small claps at Caleb before looking back at the fish. Whatever Caleb was doing seemed to be working well from the way the fish slowly turned their bodies and began to gradually glide over to them, all of their eyes blank.

Not too long after, all three fish were eventually in Noel and Caleb’s hands, who wasted no time swimming back down to the cave floor to tend to their proud and hard-earned catch of the morning.

“So, you’ve successfully used your new brain abilities to catch that food… many congratulations.”

“Oh, didn’t notice you dozed off while we were busy.” Noel said to the turtle, who still wasn’t moving an inch but had its eyes open again. “Well, you woke back up to some good news, we must say.”

“I probably would have stayed asleep had it not been for Caleb’s constant screaming at the fish you have in your hands right there, but yes, seems like I did indeed wake up to good news.”

“Sorry we couldn’t get more, but we’re both pretty worn out from all that extreme brain usage right now, and this was all we had outside.” Said Caleb. He almost stumbled back onto the cave floor with a small puff of sand and laid there panting a little, still holding the fish like they would swim away if he didn’t keep a firm grip (even though they wouldn’t now that he had control over them).

It wasn’t until she heard it from Caleb that Noel realized just how tired she physically felt, and she too settled down on the cave floor to rest her back on the rocky walls. She supposed in the midst of their sheer commitment to put their abilities to good use and their excitement when they were successful made them forget just how much of their strength they were using in the process.

“It’s always exhausting when it’s the first time, I know it was for me when I started this myself. And don’t worry about the amount you caught, this is still enough for me to get myself off the ground.”

“So you’re saying practice makes perfect, I saw that coming.” Caleb panted from the cave floor. “We’ll keep trying until we get better, you have our word.”

“I appreciate your attitude, because after this morning’s exhausting task, I think I might also need help with detecting our next rift to destroy. Yes, you can sense the rifts’ protective layers like you can with living creatures, since they’re biologically formed substances.”

“More opportunity to practice our abilities.” Said Noel. “I just hope we don’t mess up or anything.”

“You won’t – you know I’ll always have your backs throughout this whole journey no matter what. Like you said the other night, we’re a… what was the word, team? Is that what you said we are? Anyway, what I’m saying is, it’s only right that we have each other’s backs during this. I’ll assist you like I always have, and you assist me with the more overwhelming tasks.”

“You said it.” Noel and Caleb both said in unison, and the turtle gave them looks of appreciation before helping them prepare the fish for eating.

* * *

The following day became much more eventful than most of the few before it. Before leaving the cave, the turtle taught Noel and Caleb how to detect any rifts that were nearest to their current location, which was the same as trying to sense the fish they ate earlier, except on a grander scale.

“I feel like we’re submarines trying to locate underwater bombs or something…” Caleb said to himself with both hands pressed against his temples, as if that would help him utilize his powers better. Noel honestly agreed, but she saved her strength on focusing to find their next target than making lighthearted comments to make themselves feel better about what they were doing. Half a dozen times she sensed something she thought was a rift, until the turtle looked into her mind to check and told her it was either a random marine animal or an alien swimming far away from them.

“Now this is confusing me…” Noel muttered at one point. Right now she was picking up several faraway biological signs in her head, but couldn’t tell which one of them was not an animal or alien.

“I see you’re detecting a lot right there, which-“

The turtle had been munching on some seaweed to refill itself from the lessons it had been giving to them, but upon looking into Noel’s mind this time, it instantly swam up to her and placed itself at the top of her head. Noel felt its fins tighten her scalp a bit as it concentrated into her mind.

“Aha, I found which one of these is the rift, the rest are all either my kind or just animals! That’s the one we’re going for next. And, a bit of advice Noel, next time when something of this sort happens again, try your best to differentiate biological protective layers from actual living things.”

“Again, practice makes perfect.” Noel replied. “I’ll be sure to keep that feedback in mind too.”

“You’re certainly getting better at this than I am.” Caleb said with a sense of envy. “I was only able to pick up only like half a dozen signs, none of them rifts.”

“You’ll have plenty of time to get better, so let’s not get upset over anything now and move on.”

And move on they did, during which Noel and Caleb kept on practicing as they swam. They only stopped to take a break when they felt like the only strength left in them was what they were using to move themselves through the water. And with every break they took, the turtle would cover for them by either luring in more fish for them to fill up with or standing lookout for any predators.

“Don’t worry about me wearing myself out from this, let me remind you this is just nothing short of repeats of what I’ve been doing for you for the past several days.”

This went on all day until nightfall, when they found shelter in another dense kelp forest and slept there till morning. After that they practiced their abilities yet again on finding breakfast. As Noel and Caleb peeked their heads out from between the kelp like moray eels in search of fish or clams, the turtle asked them if they felt like they were getting any better at what they were doing.

Just as this question was asked to him, Caleb saw a fish that he lured towards them coming closer into view and replied, “I sure as hell know what I’m getting good at, and it’s getting some decent grub for us.” Then shortly after he added, “Here comes more!” as four more fish joined the first one.

“Hey, I sensed those fish swimming near us for you to lure in.” Noel laughed. “So for that, you think I ought to also receive some credit?”

Gathering the fish into his hands, Caleb said, “This is quite the Yin & Yang situation, isn’t it? I’m good at something you’re not, you’re good at something I’m not…”

Noel was momentarily speechless at how accurate this was. All this time during practice she was barely able to make even one fish stop to so much as give her a glance, while Caleb was attracting them like he smelled of fish food. On the other hand it was thanks to Noel herself being able to tell if any fish were nearby at all that Caleb could do this, as he was still having trouble with trying to sense the rift they were swimming towards.

“We could probably make good use of each skill through teamwork, as long as we’re together.” Noel commented once she found her internal voice, and the turtle also commented on this.

“It would be better if you fully fleshed out your abilities, but I still appreciate such enthusiasm.”

This “fleshing out” of abilities went on more than half of the day as they kept either gathering food or sensing any nearby dangers on their way. By that time they had finally reached their second rift. While Noel and Caleb were surprised and relieved at how quickly they reached this one compared to their first, the turtle said it was due to their swimming getting better over the days. Plus, the fact that it still took them two or three days to reach this rift even with their faster-than-ever swimming also seemed to prove the turtle’s theory on the rifts existing few and far between across the world.

“Good to know THAT part of our abilities is already well ‘fleshed out’.” Said Noel. “At this rate I’m starting to feel more confident that we’ll get to all the rifts before those monsters make themselves familiar with what lies outside their comfort zone.”

“I second that.” Caleb agreed, then turned to the turtle to ask, “Anyway, what’s the plan this time other than what we did the first time around?”

“Thankfully this rift doesn’t seem to be guarded. I can’t sense anything hiding under the sand, or anywhere else for that matter. Guess they couldn’t afford to have every single rift guarded or else they’d be a bit short in their own numbers for other things… Good news for us, since it’ll make the job much easier. You know what to do from the first time around, right? And if this rift also happens to be connected to another ‘food storage’ of theirs, then here’s something new you should know;”

With that, it explained how to provide the same kind of protection they had to the animals they may or may not free from captivity this time. From the way it described the process, it seemed like it was done similarly to how they lured in fish, with just some slight differences.

“Understood all that? You think you can handle it?”

“Of course we understood. And even if we can’t handle it, you know that won’t stop us from trying.” Noel said with determination, while next to her Caleb was getting out their harpoons in preparation.

“Alright then, here we go.”

With no further words, all three of them went straight to work. To none of their surprise, this rift did lead to another giant cavern filled with big marine animals held captive in bubbles of biological protective layers. Needless to say, all of them were freed the moment both sides of the rift were imploded in yet another giant whirlpool which also sucked in every alien that used it to cross over.

“Now that our job with the rift’s done, time to ‘flesh out’ more of your abilities. When you’re done with any one of the animals here, call for me and I’ll check to see if you did it right.”

“Rightho.” Noel and Caleb nodded at the turtle to show they got it. As the turtle swam off to the nearest shark to do its work on it, they too approached random marine animals and began practicing.

Noel of course knew she shouldn’t expect any miracles too soon, so she wasn’t let down that much when she tried providing protection to the first several marine animals she approached and called to the turtle only to be told it could still mind-control them and she needed to work harder. It was the same with Caleb at first, however being better than Noel at mind-controlling, he was starting to show more and more signs of improvement by the time the day slid into late afternoon.

“Another successful attempt, this one’s good to go too!”

Out of the corner of her eye Noel saw a bottlenose dolphin swim away into the endless open water as Caleb watched it go with a proudly triumphant look on his face. That was the third animal he had properly provided protection to while she had done so to none so far. And there was nothing more to be said about the turtle’s progress with the animals, obviously.

“Come on now…” Determined to provide protection to at least one animal before they found a place to settle for the night, Noel looked intensely into the eyes of a gray seal she was floating in front of and concentrated with all her might. At that moment she didn’t even care if she wore herself out just by trying to do something with this one seal, as long as it wasn’t nothing.

Several seconds passed like that, and in an act of slight impatience Noel found herself holding both sides of the seal’s face and pulling it close to hers as if trying to kiss it, still concentrating as hard as ever. And finally, something seemed to happen as she felt a tingly sensation somewhere in her brain; far from unpleasant, but definitely noticeable. The tingle then split in two to travel down her neck and each of her arms, eventually seeming to exit through her hands before entering the seal.

Panting heavily like she’d been lifting heavy weights, Noel called the turtle again. This attempt felt very different from the previous ones just from that tingly sensation alone. For once she felt like this was the one, that she had finally pulled it off. So you could imagine her excitement when the turtle came and checked the seal, then told her it was now well-protected and good to go.

“Well done Noel, keep up the good work and you’ll have this ability mastered before you know it!”

“All right!” Noel cheered, and in spite of her tiredness from working on the seal, she eagerly swam up to the other animals floating above her, ready for more.